Claim · model-written summary
Premature seed abscission rates were higher in species with temporally predictable fruiting patterns and higher abundance.
- Taxon
- woody plant speciese1
- Treatment
- temporally predictable fruiting patternse5
- Outcome
- Premature seed abscission ratese5
- Direction
- highere5
- Qualifier
- more abundant at the study sitee5
Not reportedMaterialGeneCompoundOrgan / stageInteractorInteractor roleSecond interactorSecond interactor roleComparatorSettingValue
Verbatim
t0“Pre‐dispersal seed predation could help explain premature fruit drop in a tropical forest”
e1“to estimate the proportion of seeds prematurely abscised for 201 woody plant species”
e5“Premature seed abscission rates were higher in species which are known to host pre‐dispersal insect seed predators and species with attributes that were hypothesised to make them more susceptible to attack by pre‐dispersal enemies, namely species which (a) have larger seeds, (b) have a greater average height, (c) have temporally predictable fruiting patterns and (d) are more abundant at the study site”
Title
Pre‐dispersal seed predation could help explain premature fruit drop in a tropical forest
Eleanor E. Jackson; S. Joseph Wright; Osvaldo Calderón; et al. Journal of Ecology 2022. doi:10.1111/1365-2745.13867
Other claims from this paper (7)
- Observation Across species, 39% of seeds were abscised before completing their development.
- Association Rates of premature seed abscission varied considerably among species and could not be explained by phylogeny.
- Association Premature seed abscission rates were higher in species known to host pre-dispersal insect seed predators.
- Association Premature seed abscission rates were higher in species with larger seeds and a greater average height.
- Observation Premature fruit drop is likely a major source of seed mortality for many plant species on Barro Colorado Island.
- Mechanism Pre-dispersal seed enemies may contribute to community-level premature fruit drop and mediate species coexistence through stabilising negative density dependence.
- Recommendation The role of pre-dispersal enemies in structuring tropical plant communities should be considered alongside post-dispersal enemies.